AFCON 2017: The Dying Minutes

The temperature is humid and the atmosphere is tense. This is not an
ordinary night in Gabon’s capital Libreville. Tempers are high and the
tempo of the game is temporarily calm, but otherwise, burst of speed,
flurry of tackles and sinew mostly ensues.
Supporters are making as much noise as they can; drums made of antelope
skins are taking a well-deserved beating. Patriotic fans are lungs out
blowing their own trumpet, sounds of battle cry, which compliments a
tussling mood in the arena.Radiant faces painted with colours of red, green, yellow and many
other shades are reacting to every effort being made on the pitch with
thunderous eruptions of cheers and sometimes jeers. Stade de L’Amitie
is on fire.
For all to see, the huge screen in the stadium is projecting images of
nervous of substitute players with their officials sitting on the edge
the benches. Coaches, of either side, cautiously pacing here and there
inside their demarcated lines shouting instructions.
The fight for the prestigious continental title is on. The Indomitable
Lions of Cameroon and The Pharaohs of Egypt are neck-on-neck, a goal a
piece with only 3 minutes of regulation time remaining.
Millions across the globe are riveted to their screens to witness with
their own eyes the crowning of the new Kings of African football.
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Chinamwali, a boy is watching the game
in a fully packed dark video showroom, made of thinly sliced wooden
planks with a roof that hardly supports the satellite dish. “The
Emirates”, this shack of hall is fondly known.
He holds on to his urine, he doesn’t want to miss any piece of action.
He places one leg on top of the other, fidgeting steadily as he watch
youthful Cameroonian side piling waves of pressure on the
well-decorated Egyptians.
Coming into this final as 7 times champions The Pharaohs are on top of
the pyramid as the favorites to win this part 2 of 2008 final, but not
until recently!
Its 88th minute; the indomitable Lions are roaring. Central midfielder
Siani let loose a flying ball towards substitute Vincent Aboubakar who
is surrounded with three defenders, this is right on the edge of
the box. There, the moment of brilliance, that will forever shine in
the annals of African soccer has begun.
The stadium is silent, Aboubakar kills it with his shoulder, flip it
over the head Egypt’s Gabir, he twists his frame to hit a bouncing
volley into the left corner of net while the 44 year old goalie El
Hadary looks emotionless
Oooooooooooh it’s a gooooaaaal!! Its 2-1 to Cameroon! The crowd is euphoric. The entire bench runs into
the pitch, supporters can’t believe it, ladies are jumping into hands
of the unknown men. Aboubakar is running towards the dressing room,
his teammates are after him.

The Dying Minutes was written by Paulstolic, a Storyteller based in Malawi. You can find him in Zomba (Mataware) telling stories to his family and friends